Kickoff set for 12 p.m. at Kermit Tipton Stadium; Children 12 & under get in for free

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Oct. 14, 2016) – The ETSU football team is back in action this Saturday as the Bucs host Furman at 12 p.m. from Kermit Tipton Stadium.

THINGS TO KNOW FOR SATURDAY’S GAME

No. 1 – Game time is set for noon on Saturday, with the traditional Buc Walk set for 10:15 a.m. During the year, the Buc Walk will take place one hour and 45 minutes prior to game time. In addition, the Food City Zone – a family tailgating area with kids’ activities – will open at 9 a.m., three hours prior to game time.

No. 2 – Parking areas around Kermit Tipton will open at 7 a.m. for tailgating, and gates to the stadium will open at approximately 10 a.m. During the year, gates to the stadium will open two hours prior to kick. Please make sure to have your designated parking pass visibly displayed to access lots. Paid parking is also available in Lots C and I, as well as in the Terrace lots in front of Science Hill High School.

No. 3 – Saturday is Youth Day… Children 12 and under get in for free with a paying adult. To purchase tickets, call (423) 439-3878 or click here to purchase them online.

BUC HITS

After winning its first two games of the season, ETSU (2-3, 1-3 SoCon) has dropped three straight including back-to-back 37-7 setbacks to No. 3 Chattanooga and at VMI last Saturday.

The overall record of ETSU’s first five opponents is a combined 18-9 … The Bucs have faced three defenses ranked in top-25 in FCS in their first five games – UTC (1st, 225.7 yards per game), Wofford (2nd, 254.5 yards per game) and Kennesaw State (22nd, 329.4 yards per game) … ETSU has also faced two offenses ranked in top-25 – Kennesaw (8th, 480.0 yards per game) and UTC (22nd, 445.2 yards per game) … In addition, the Blue and Gold have faced three rushing offenses in top-25 – Wofford (5th, 5.33 yards per rush), Kennesaw State (6th, 5.29 yards per rush) and Chattanooga (18th, 5.13 yards per rush).

As a team, ETSU ranks among the national FCS leaders in several categories … The Bucs are tied for first in red zone offense (1.000), rank fourth in turnovers lost (4), 14th in fewest passes intercepted (2), 15th in blocked kicks (2), 16th in fumbles lost (2), 29th in third down conversion percentage (41.9), 29th in passing yards allowed (186.8), and 40th in completion percentage (60.1).

Four Bucs have recorded their first FCS touchdown this season … Vincent Lowe (Chesapeake, Va.), Matt Thompson (Morristown, Tenn.) and Keith Coffee (Lilburn, Ga.) all caught their first collegiate touchdown passes in the 34-31 win over Western Carolina at Bristol Motor Speedway on Sept. 17, while Malik Styles (Dandridge, Tenn.) hauled in his first touchdown last weekend at VMI.

Dylan Weigel – who has recorded double-digit tackles his last two games – has accomplished the feat in 12 of his first 16 games in a Buccaneer uniform … Weigel is only 26 tackles shy of 200 for his career.

The Buccaneer defense has recorded turnovers in four of their first five games this season.

Sixteen different ETSU players have caught at least one pass this season … Vincent Lowe leads the team in receptions (16) and yards (149) … Dalton Ponchillia (Nashville, Tenn.) has 13 receptions and Drake Powell (Clinton, Tenn.) has 10 … Ponchillia had caught at least one pass in his first 15 games play as a Buccaneer until being held without a reception last weekend at VMI.

ABOUT FURMAN

Furman enters this weekend’s game at 0-6 and 0-3 in the conference, but four of its six losses have come to ranked teams.

Furman ranks 10th in the FCS in fewest penalties per game (4.67) and 13th in fewest penalty yards per game (42.67) … The Paladins also rank 24th in first downs (121) and 34th in passing offense (254.8) … Quarterback Reese Hannon ranks 25th in FCS in passing touchdowns (9) and wide receiver Andrej Suttles is 31st in receiving touchdowns (4) … Senior safety Trey Robison ranks 15th in solo tackles per game (5.8) and 18th in total tackles (10.3).

The Paladins have turned the ball over 15 times (10 INTs/five fumbles), while opponents have scored 37 points off those miscues.

Furman is being outscored 134-45 in the first half – including 56-7 in the first quarter.

The Paladins are being held to 32-percent on third down conversions (25-for-79), while opponents are 40-percent on third down (29-for-73).

Five Furman players have double-digit receptions on the season with Andrej Suttles leading the pack with 31 catches for 390 yards and four touchdowns … Thomas Gordon has 22 receptions for 260 yards and two touchdowns, and Logan McCarter has 19 catches for 235 yards and two touchdowns … Tight end Duncan Fletcher has 17 receptions and running back Antonio Wilcox has 11 catches … Wilcox leads the team with 114 rushing yards (36 carries) and two touchdowns.

SERIES HISTORY

Furman leads the all-time series, 23-7, and the Paladins have won the last three meetings and six of the last 10.

Today marks the 15th game played in Johnson City and Furman holds a 9-5 advantage in the previous 14 meetings.

The Paladins won the last meeting, 30-10, back on Oct. 25, 2003 in Greenville, while ETSU’s last win in the series was a 23-21 victory back in 2000 inside the Mini Dome.

ETSU’s longest win streak in the series is a three-game run from 1996-98, while Furman’s longest stretch is a nine-run run from 1987-95.

The Bucs’ largest win against Furman is a 58-28 victory back in 1997, while the Paladins’ largest win came in 1992 when Furman won 45-14 … The 58 points scored by the Bucs in 1997 mark the most by any team in the series … The most points scored by the Paladins came in 1991 when they put up 52.

The first-ever meeting between ETSU and Furman was back on Sept. 14, 1957 in Greenville (Furman won, 13-7) … The Bucs’ first win in the series came in 1974 (24-13 in Johnson City).

MORE ON THE FURMAN SERIES

In the last meeting between these two programs, Matt Palmer recorded five tackles for loss (for negative-21 yards) … The five tackles for loss are tied for third in ETSU single-game history.

In 2000, quarterback Todd Wells finished with 401 yards of total offense (second all-time in ETSU single-game history), passed for 336 yards (tied for third-most), while his 44 pass attempts are the fifth-most by a Buccaneer quarterback … Wells connected on an 80-yard touchdown pass to Lamar Cooper in 1998, which is the fourth-longest scoring pass play in school history.

In 1997, Brian Edwards rushed for three touchdowns in the 58-28 win in Greenville … The three touchdowns are the second-most rushing touchdowns in ETSU single-game history … Also, in 1997, the Bucs held the ball for 40:37, which is the school record for highest time of possession by any Buccaneer team … Furthermore, Furman only had the ball for 19:31, which is the lowest by any opponent.

In 1995, Greg Ryan recorded 41 pass attempts, which is tied for the sixth-most … Ryan completed 25 of those 41 attempts and the 25 completions are tied for 10th in ETSU single-game history.

In 1993, Jeff Johnson finished with 10 catches for 187 yards and three touchdowns … The three touchdowns are tied for the second-most by a Buccaneer player, the 187 receiving yards are the third-most, and the 10 catches are tied for eighth in single-game history.

In 1976, Charlie Wells had a 96-yard interception return (second longest scoring play off an INT), while Pierre Harshaw posted a 95-yard kickoff return in 1973 (seventh longest kickoff return).

COVERAGE

Fans can listen to the radio call on WXSM-AM 640 The Extreme Sports Monster or on 104.9 NASH Icon as “Voice of the Bucs” Jay Sandos will carry the play-by-play and former Buccaneer quarterback Matt Wilhjelm as the color analyst. Jessica Larkin will be the sideline reporter.

The Buccaneer Sports Network will launch its pregame broadcast one hour and 30 minutes prior to kickoff with the 30-minute long Eastman Credit Union Tailgate Show, followed by the Carl Torbush Pregame Show powered by Ford which will lead up to 30 minutes prior to kickoff. The First Tennessee Bank Countdown to Kickoff will then lead into the final moments before kickoff. An audio stream will be available via ETSUBucs.com or by clicking here.

Saturday’s game will also be video streamed live on the SoCon Digital Network. Click here for live video.

In addition to following the Bucs on your mobile device and/or tablet with live audio and video, fans can get up to the minute stats by following the action via StatBroadcast. Fans can access live stats on their computers or mobile devices via BucsStats.com or by clicking here.